Heinrich Kling

Heinrich Kling (10 September 1913-30 September 1951) was an SS-Sturmbannfuehrer and panzer ace during World War II.

Biography
Heinrich Kling was born in Kassel, German Empire in 1913, and he joined the Wehrmacht in 1933 and the SS in 1938. He served in the 12th SS Totenkopf Standarte in Lodz, occupied Poland after November 1939, taking part in the murder of Polish intellectuals and Jews; this was done under the guise of carrying out "anti-partisan" operations. Kling joined the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler before taking part in Operation Barbarossa, and he took command of a panzer battalion in Joachim Peiper's panzer regiment in 1943 during the war against the Soviets, during which he fought at Kharkov, Kursk, and in Ukraine. In March 1944, his unit transferred to Mons, France, and it fought in the Battle of Normandy against the Allies. On 20 March 1945, he took command of the 101st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion from Heinz von Westernhagen, fighting on the Eastern Front before surrendering to the Western Allies in Steyr, Austria on 8 May 1945. After the war, he worked low-paying jobs and became an alcoholic, and he drowned while bathing in Lake Constance in 1951.